Field testing my new Trail Hawk !

I got the trail Hawk a couple weeks ago but it was until this weekend that really got the chance to try it and this are my impressions :

The first thing that caught my attention is how small and light it is , it weights less than my SF shovel and got a little concerned about its capacity at processing wood , but when you start using it you get a nice surprise ; the long handle gives it good momentum and it bites deep in the wood , although since the blade is on the thin side it can get stuck pretty easily on thick logs , better to use it on smaller branches , I tried to use it to make feather sticks and it works ok , but you get better results with a smaller , sharper blade ( my Pendleton Lite can't be beaten !)

The hammer face came handy when I cut some branches , sharpened one end and drove them on the ground on my first unsuccessful attempt to make a makeshift shelter , but the small hammer makes it hard to hit the small branch top , and the Trail Hawk is too light to be an effective hammer , going for broke I attacked a four inch thick log and to my surprise it took two minutes tops , on my inexperienced hands , to cut trough and against better judgement proceeded to split it ; the first blow got the hawk firmly stuck on the log , lifting both hawk and log the second blow drove it deeper and about the fourth ( or the fifth ?) blow it went trough !

From there the work went a lot easier , the hawk splitting the increasingly smaller pieces of wood in a breeze

Overall I believe the tool choice will depend on how much wood you need to process , to be honest at this point my Pendleton Lite covers my needs at the moment , when I get ready to do real camping my choice will be the Trail Hawk for ease of use and small weight/size and not until I get to do serious winter camping (who knows how many years will take to get there ) will need my Trail Boss , but it is nice to know I am covered that far into the future

Nice review. Think I will get one after all. Looks like you're getting the hang of being an outdoorsman too. That's great! A little tip on the axe getting stuck in bigger logs: If you use another log or something as a hammer you can turn the hawk into a mini-maul (which is basically a wedge on a stick).

Nice review. Think I will get one after all. Looks like you're getting the hang of being an outdoorsman too. That's great! A little tip on the axe getting stuck in bigger logs: If you use another log or something as a hammer you can turn the hawk into a mini-maul (which is basically a wedge on a stick).

Nice tip Saralach , basically batoning with the hawk ? the wedge shaped hawk would work nicely , never though of that , pretty much just kinda used brute force for my first split

I reprofiled the edge on my trail hawk and it bit deeper and carved better. Partner it up with a 3-4" knife and maybe a folding saw and you have a versatile lightweight wood processing kit.

Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die. And none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy and duty of life. Both life and death are parts of the same great adventure."-Theodore Roosevelt.

I reprofiled the edge on my trail hawk and it bit deeper and carved better. Partner it up with a 3-4" knife and maybe a folding saw and you have a versatile lightweight wood processing kit.

I will start working on the edge , and already carry a 3" blade , you are right its a good , light combination ; what folding saw would you recommend ? would like to get one but have no clue as what to get or what to look for , any input is welcomed !